Oct 4, about 40 people gathered in the Community Room in the Basement of St. Andrew’s Church to participate in Creative Capital’s #DinnersProject. We were one of several hundred diners happening across the nation from Oct 4-7. This event was co-hosted by many of the Arts Organizations and Businesses around the community and was attended by artists and art supporters alike. We even drew in a few passers-by who smelled the food and heard the discussion.
Not only did this turn out to be an opportunity for folks of a variety of beliefs to share and discuss both local and national political issues without vitriol or posturing, but it also turned into something even bigger for the community.
Annie Lightsey, who runs Sol House locally and is involved with Create2030 globally, volunteered to lead the planning and coordination of topics for anyone who wants to use art as activism. Based on the UN SDGs , she will create a calendar that gives a topic for artists and organizations who want to raise awareness or help to educate each quarter. Since we have also agreed to come back together once a quarter for a dinner ( we do carry-ins like experts around here), we will also use part of that time to collaborate and coordinate efforts for the coming quarter.
The group also acknowledged that we can get so heads down busy working in and supporting our individual organization or business that we forget to look up and around. The #kokomoartsmatter hashtag was created and all in the room agreed that anytime we see it on an event or art posting, we will all share it. Hopefully, in the near future anyone looking for insights on the Kokomo/Howard County art scene will just be able to google #kokomoartsmatter and find all the hidden corners of our rich art ecosystem. We hope each of you will participate in this coordination of information.
Listen for more information as new projects and collaborations evolve out of this community wide effort, and plan on joining us in January for the next amazing arts community pot luck dinner.
